Aero wheels
Go faster, look faster, and maybe even sound faster with a set of aero wheels
t is a truth universally acknowledged that a roadie in possession of a good fortune should probably buy new wheels. Be it for posing or performance, deeper section rims can represent a real upgrade. You can literally buy a little extra speed, but doing so can be painfully expensive, and naturally there are pitfalls. The old ‘cheap/light/strong’ adage applies, though we’ll substitute ‘aero’ for ‘strong’. As you’ll see, you can have any two, but all three is pushing it.
The last couple of years have seen great progress in wheel designers’ understanding of aerodynamics as well as efforts to address some of the heat and braking issues associated with carbon rims. Some have tackled the challenges head on while others sidestep them, preferring to stick with proven hybrid designs.
We tested 16 pairs of wheels with rims from 35-62.5mm deep, from £700 to just under £1800 – a typical outlay for a serious club rider looking to take on a
Rim shape
Narrow, pointy V-shaped sections were long assumed to be fastest, despite the terror they produced in crosswinds. Aerodynamic research has led to a new understanding that fat, blunt aerofoil shapes are faster, handle better and produce more optimal tyre profiles.
Nipples
Nipples anchor the spokes to the rim. Traditionally they were made of plated brass but aluminium is often used instead to save weight. In comparison to brass, though, aluminium is more susceptible to corrosion, which can make truing problematic and even cause failures. time trial or crit series, achieve a sportive PB or simply save a few watts on the way to the cake stop. You could certainly spend more, but we’re not convinced you need to.
To keep things fair, we fitted all the wheels (except the Mavics, which are sold as a wheel-tyre system) with the same 25mm Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Weather tyres. We used standard Shimano brake pads for wheels with aluminium brake tracks, and matched manufacturer-supplied pads to the carbon rims, except where noted.
Our weights include rim tape where needed, and we’ve included skewer weights because we know you love that sort of thing. We checked every wheel in a truing stand before testing and compared spoke tensions to assess build quality, then checked them after testing to see how they held up. To wring out these wheels, we rode our training loops back-to-back in all weathers, hitting potholes with abandon and dragging brakes to check for issues.
Cartridge bearings
These are sealed units containing balls and races, which are replaced as a whole when they wear out. They’re lighter than traditional bearings and can be treated as fit-and-forget. But some manufacturers push the limits and use ones that are simply too small to be durable.